Retired Buffalo Bills center and three-time captain Eric Wood writes a weekly column for The Athletic during the 2018 season.

Sean McDermott said at his season-ending news conference that although the Buffalo Bills went 6-10, he feels even better about the team’s future than after we went to the playoffs.

I have to agree with him.

Especially with the losses of Tyrod Taylor, Richie Incognito, Cordy Glenn and me, there were going to be some growing pains on offense. The Bills plugged in a rookie who showed he can be the franchise quarterback they haven’t had in a long time, finished strong and are sitting about $90 million under the salary cap with a bunch of draft picks.

I’ve never been an NFL general manager, and I don’t pretend to be an expert. But here I go anyway.

Bills GM Brandon Beane said all the right things Monday. You don’t want to overspend because the money is burning a hole in your free-agency...